The ringing from my alarm app pierced into my ears and had me bolting out of the blanket. I proceeded to the corner where I placed my suitcase, then pulled out a new set of business dresses with my thoughts on my dream. Surprisingly, it's about Kim running after me again in that same snow-covered place. What made me wonder more was the seeming continuation of my first dream. It felt like a dé·jà vu.
Where it had ended in an elevator the last time, it now extended to another scene. And the scene wasn't anything simple or expected but something beyond my imagination – an intimate scene with Kim! Of all the men out there, why him? I even had trouble forgetting that scene with him on the beach one time. Zed is now my husband and should only be the only man in my mind. I was betraying him already by imagining Kim during those unsatisfied moments I had with him.
I could hardly believe I dreamed of something like that! Yes, I may admit that Kim had the ideal traits of my dreamed man, but to be in a lovemaking scene with him was rather too gross! And every part of the dream seemed real. I could even still feel his touch, his kisses, and him being inside me. But how could it happen when I was a virgin when I married Zed? It even took him four months to penetrate successfully inside me.
The hair on my spine crept, giving me goosebumps all over. I felt guilty because every fiber of my being seemed to enjoy that indulgence with him. I even felt my orifice opening up, craving for the real thing to move in and out of me.
I tried to ignore the need, so I shifted my focus to pampering myself with good makeup. Sitting in front of a mirror, I started to open the bottle of my makeup remover and poured a small amount into a cotton pad. Once I removed the old layer, I began reapplying a day cream into my face.
"Yen?" Kim's voice had me scrambling to my feet. I turned to look at him but, seeing his lips made me replay the dream in my mind, so I looked away hurriedly.
"Sorry. Am I too late already?" I asked, glancing at my watch.
"Almost. I buzzed the doorbell, but you didn't pick up, so I tried to open the door directly. You were not picking my calls, either."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Maybe, the ringing I heard was not the alarm clock, but his calls!
*Can I have a minute more? I need to finish this," I smiled, picking up my lipstick and showing it to him.
He chuckled. "Oh, that again. Keeping us late as always."
Again?
"What did you say?" I furrowed my brows and gazed at him.
He seemed to look startled for a second, then took a deep breath and smiled at me.
"Nothing. I just said I couldn't understand women."
I hurriedly put on a light red lipstick, picked up my bag, and get into my shoes.
"I'm done."
He smiled and looked at me, perhaps amused that I was unable to complete my retouch.
"Let's go. You're already beautiful. There's no need for that scary and thick layers."
He opened the door for me and locked it as soon as I stepped out. My heart was still on the ninth cloud for earning a compliment from him.
Dear skies, am I really beautiful in his eyes? That is really flattering, I thought.
"Where's Trish? I asked the moment we were walking on the corridor side by side.
"With Cris. We will meet them at the office."
Vic had already brought the car to the entrance, so we arrived at the company in less than ten minutes. As soon as we walked into the lobby, all the staff who met us on the way greeted us. But I noticed that there was something strange in the way they looked at me. Observing them through my peripheral vision, some of them stared at me secretly, and others even turned their heads.
I pressed closer to Kim and asked in a low tone, "Why are the people here seem weird? They're staring at me strangely."
Kim looked straight into my eyes, his lips turning into an amused smile.
"Do you still wonder about it? You're beautiful, Yen. And your beauty is unique in their eyes."
"Do they also look at Maezy this way?"
He snorted. "People can tell a real beauty from a sophisticated one. So, her beauty is kind of boring."
"Kim!" He shouldn't say anything bad against his wife.
He just shrugged and wrapped an arm around my shoulders to remind me to walk faster.
"Mr. Mori!" A man standing by the corner of a corridor called Kim, alerting our attention to him.
"Mr. Yee, hello!"
The man called Mr. Yee seemed to be in his fifties. Wrinkles appeared on his forehead when he let out a soft laugh as he greeted Kim with a pat on his shoulders. Strands of grey hair near his forehead glistened against the lighting on the ceiling.
"It's really wonderful to see you with Miss Jakara again," he said, giving me an admiring look. I also stopped and froze.
"She's Miss Yen Ramos, Mr. Yee. Your signs of dementia seem to have gone worse already."
I couldn't see Kim's reaction because he was standing behind me, but I caught Mr. Yee's sorry expression before he gazed back and smiled at me.
"Hello, Miss Ramos! It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry to have mistaken you as Miss Jakara," he said with a pursed smile.
"It's an honor to be mistaken as Mr. President's woman. But I am just a new employee, Mr. Yee. Glad to meet you also."
"Let's go. It's almost time," Kim said, urging me to go by placing a hand again on my shoulders.
We take one more turn, and at the end of the corridor was a huge half-wooden and half-glass door. Hanging above the door was the signage bearing the company's name. At the right side of the corridor was a wall glass that overlooked the neighboring buildings. One of the buildings caught my attention. It had the same facade as the one I saw in my dream.